Hardware Société

Hardware Société is famous for its scrummy food and the large swarm of eager people waiting out front to gain entry... The French/Spanish inspired menu draws in the crowds so expect to wait quite a long time for a table. We went last Saturday for lunch and were happy to see that there were relatively few people waiting to get in. The threat of rainy weather, perhaps? Luckily we were only required to wait for 5-10 minutes before being seated on the end of a communal table. Hardware Société is a rather petite but charming space with colourful butterfly wallpaper and adorable vintage teacups.

WHAT’S ON THE MENU?

·        Omelette with pea, asparagus, crab and lemon salad ($20.00)

·        Pork belly and fried eggs with buttered crushed potatoes and leek, and apple alioli ($21.00)

·        Clafoutis with banana and sour cherry, brown sugar labne, and candied pistachios ($15.00)

·        Herb roasted mushrooms: sautéed leek and onion, mushroom medley, shallot and chevre puree, walnut bread and fried eggs ($20.00)

WHAT WE ATE...

I’ve been lusting after Hardware Société’s baked eggs since looking at photos from fellow bloggers. Thus, I decided to order the vegetarian version: ‘Baked eggs with cauliflower purée, pumpkin, sage, mon sire brie, pinenut migas ($18.00)’. This was accompanied by some crusty bread drizzled with pistou. The baked eggs were luscious with a capital 'L'. Dipping the bread into the creamy pot of heaven was very satisfying... The occasional hit of cauliflower purée and brie provided extra decadence to the dish.

Baked Eggs

My dining companion chose one of the daily specials to satisfy his sweet cravings. The ‘Fried brioche with fresh berries, vanilla panna cotta and a pistachio praline ($18.00)’ was quite good but a little lacklustre. It could have been improved with some sort of syrup to make it less parched.  

Fried Brioche

WHAT WE DRANK...

Hardware Société uses Padre Coffee’s Daddy’s Girl blend and Saint David Dairy’s milk. My latte ($3.80) tasted nice but perhaps a little weaker and cooler than I prefer. The hot chocolates ($5.00) that I spied further down our table looked very tempting...

Latte

SERVICE...

I found the service to be very efficient and hospitable and that the food came out promptly after ordering. Of course, this would be a priority as they need to turn tables as quickly as possible but we never felt rushed during our visit. 

Address: 118-120 Hardware St, Melbourne, VIC 

Phone: 03 9078 5992

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Trading Hours:

Mon - Fri: 7.30am – 3.00pm

Sat: 8.30am – 2.00pm

P.S. Other eateries nearby are Manchester Press and Nieuw Amsterdam...